The day after my awesome workout, I started sneezing. At first, I thought it was just my ever present allergies. Within the next 12 hours, what was a slightly irritating sneezy-ness turned into a full-fledged nose dripping, throat itching nuisance.
Since I wasn’t sick sick, I decided to attend the wine bottling event I’ve been planning since January. With two glasses of wine in me and 48 bottles completed, I went to bed, completely exhausted.
Today, I woke up completely sick. You name it– mild fever, major headache, sore throat, constant nose drip. It wasn’t pretty. And I had a workout scheduled!
I spoke to my trainer, and we agreed to give me one full day of rest. Reluctantly, I decided to take it easy.
My son didn’t get the memo, though. Turns out that whatever was plaguing me also got him, too! So, instead of pushing weight on Friday afternoon, I found myself completely absorbed in caring for myself and my little guy.
Why, oh why, was this happening? I felt so awesome after getting my butt kicked in the gym, and now, I feel like…
I turned to two resources– the internet, and my personal trainer.
My good friend The World Wide Web came through for me first. In an August 1995 article from Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers looked at the immune functions of runners based on two types of training- intensity and volume.
An explication of the article and interview with the lead researcher states this:
MacDougall et al. found reductions in the ratio of “immune helper” cells to “immune suppressor” cells with increases in either the volume or intensity of training. Dr. MacDougall relates, “This ratio is an accepted marker of immune function, and a reduction indicates an increased susceptibility to infection.” The runners’ immune systems were depressed more by increasing the intensity of training than by increasing the volume.
Dr. MacDougall also found that the runners’ immune systems adapted to the increased training intensity and volume during the 10 day training phases. This suggests that you may be most at risk of getting sick following that first hard training session, but that the immune system adjusts relatively quickly to the increased stress.
Simply put, you’re more likely to get sick after that first, HIGH intensity training session. Well, there you go.
After speaking with my trainer, I also realized that the other major change in my lifestyle was my diet. For years now, I’ve been eating all kinds of food, including “junk.” And don’t forget– the day after my strenuous workout, I had two glasses of wine.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if my body was pushing out those toxins in response to my workout, and the combination of exhaustion plus a lowered immune system led me to become sick.
I’m curious if any of you have experienced this. It’s been a full day since my flu-like symptoms, and I feel just about back to normal, including the ever-present allergy-induced sneezing.
Please comment here, and don’t forget– we’re giving away a free kettlebell from Warrior Hardware to one lucky person in my e-mail list– sign up today! : )
Hope you feel better. And, if you are indeed pushing toxins out, then I guess being sick is a good thing… for now. Stay well!